Call for Session Proposals and Side Events

A Summit needs to find solutions for today’s problems and the success of EcoSummit 2016 will be due to the creative input of its participants. Therefore, EcoSummit 2016 will be structured not only around sessions, but will rely on workshops, forums, round tables and discussions to unite attendees in finding solutions. From these events we would like to establish concrete deliverables in the form of white papers, scientific essays and new ideas for policy makers and stakeholders.

The Scientific Committee invites submissions of session proposals and side events. In keeping with the spirit of the conference title: ECOLOGICAL SUSTAINABILITY - ENGINEERING CHANGE, the Scientific Committee is developing a programme that will highlight the advances made to address the current environmental problems facing our changing world.

Sessions and side events will be considered that address one or more of the conference topics:

Topics:

Agro-ecology

Anthropogenic pressure

Arid lands and desertification

Biodiversity and biological conservation

Biological invasions

Climate change

Disturbance ecology

Ecohydrology

Ecological complexity

Ecological economics

Ecological engineering

Ecological indicators

Ecological intensification

Ecological modelling

Ecosystem creation and restoration

Ecosystem health

Ecosystem services

Ecotoxicology

Environmental policy

Fragile ecosystems and hotspot management

Integrating socio-economics and ecology

Sustainability and resilience

Watershed/River catchment management

Who may submit a session or side event proposal?
All who share an interest in ecological science, applications, or practice are invited to submit session or side event proposals. We encourage proposals from scientists at all levels, university students, NGOs, and environmental practitioners.

Students and Young Scientists
We need you! Students and young scientists (pre-PhD, PhD & post-docs) are the solutions finders of tomorrow and EcoSummit will organise a special scientific programme and social events aimed at uniting young scientists. If you are a young scientist and would like to contribute to this programme/organise a session or side event, please indicate “Young Scientist” on the Session & Side Event Proposal Form.

Preparing and submitting a side event proposal

If you would like to organize a particular side event, please indicate the type of event, subject, length and maximum number of participants. Round tables, workshops, training sessions and discussion forums are welcome, and the style and format choice are entirely up to the side event proposer.

Would you like to organise a World Café?World Cafés are forums for discussions between participants in an informal setting. Discussions are structured around specific questions. If you would like to facilitate a world café around a particular subject, please indicate clearly on the Session & Side Event Proposal Form the subject, length and maximum number of participants.

Preparing and submitting a session proposal

Those submitting the proposal should provide basic information on session organiser(s), title, a short abstract of the session proposal and a list of potential speakers and their affiliations.

Financial support for session speakers will not be provided by EcoSummit, unless under exceptional conditions, in which case the session organisers should contact alexia.stokes@cirad.fr

Proposed sessions should be organised to be 2-2½ hours in length. In standard sessions, we recommend that each speaker be given a minimum of 15 minutes for his/her presentation. Session proposers may also wish to consider devoting part of the session to a visit of posters linked to the session. Posters will be on display all week in the conference centre.

Lightning talks
We strongly suggest that session proposers consider including ‘lightning talks’ in their session. A lightning talk is typically 5-6 minutes long with questions grouped either at the end of the session or after five lightning talks. Sessions may combine a mixture of standard and lightning talks.

Sessions are open to abstracts from all participants
Please note that the abstract submission process will be open to all, so session organisers may need to include papers or posters that were not originally proposed for their sessions. Individuals submitting abstracts will be asked to select the session(s) that their presentation is most relevant to. During the abstract review process by the EcoSummit scientific committee in February 2016, the allocation of accepted abstracts to specific sessions will be made (with some consultation with session organizers). Please be aware of this possibility and the need for flexibility in designing your session. In the event that the number of accepted abstracts for a particular session exceeds the number that can be accommodated in a single session, organisers may be given an additional session slot in the Congress programme.

Criteria for selection
Session proposals will be reviewed and evaluated by members of the Scientific Committee with primary consideration given to their scientific quality and relevance to the Congress themes. Proposals will be evaluated as they are received, so we strongly encourage submissions well in advance of the 31 July 2015 deadline.

Acceptance decisions will be made no later than 30 September 2015. An open Call for Abstracts will be issued in October 2015, with online abstract submission until 29 January 2016 and acceptance decisions until 11 March 2016.

Role of session organisers
Session organisers of accepted proposals are expected to communicate with prospective presenters regarding submission of abstracts (online, from October 2015 to January 2016), and will be asked to review abstracts submitted for their sessions during the abstract review period (in February and March 2016). The Scientific Committee will review and approve (or ask for modifications) of all sessions before the final programme is announced.

Organisers will be responsible for chairing sessions (or organising the chairing of sessions) and are encouraged to pursue publication options, including special issues of journals, for papers presented in their sessions. Advice on publication options will be available on the EcoSummit website (www.ecosummit2016.org).